This invention relates generally to methods and systems for determining, with a level of confidence, whether a user of a mobile device is attentive of streaming content such as a television broadcast, an online video, a radio broadcast, or an online audio channel.
It is valuable information to know if a user is actually attentive to a streaming media, such as a television station, online broadcast, or audio channel, or if the device receiving the streaming media is simply unattended. Proximity of the user to the receiving device is not entirely indicative of the user paying attention to the media, whereas the media may be being played to a window on a screen which is minimized or covered by another window, and/or the audio may be muted or played at a minimal volume.
The knowledge of what a user actually views or hears versus what he or she ignores is critical to many producers of media so that they can improve their products and services for increased consumer affinity.